Correspondence
of the Oregon Superintendency1848Southern
Oregon-related correspondence with the Oregon Superintendency for
Indian Affairs.

Washington
City
August 31 1854

Hon. James Guthrie
Secretary of the Treasury
Sir
Herewith I propose to furnish you such
facts as came within my own knowledge in relation to the services of
Genl. Joel Palmer of Oregon in the war with the Cayuse Indians in the
years 1847 and 1848. I met with the Genl.in San Francisco in Jany.
1849, and took passage with him on the
same ship with him. On our way to Oregon I learned much from him, and
other Oregonians, returning home from San Francisco about the Cayuse
War. From the Genl. I learned that the war had terminated in the summer
of '48, that he had served a quartermaster and commissary, and at the
close of the war he found himself encumbered with a large amt. of
public property, books and unadjusted accounts, that he had a strong
desire to convert the property into the largest sum possible for the
payment as far as it would go of the expenses of the war. Consequently
when he left home he found it necessary to employ other persons to take
charge of the property, books and accounts--to arrange and close them
up. This I found to be
on my arrival at Oregon City to be the case. From my personal knowledge
therefore I am able to state that he had two persons employed a portion
of the time, & one, Mr. Clouse [Cloisse?],
the entire time of the absence as clerk, & the other to take charge
of and dispose of property, and I further know that he paid them for
their services out of his own money. And further I can say that I
consider Palmer an honest, conscientious, good man and efficient officer [and] the award allowed to Palmer by Commissioner Wait just and only but a reasonable compensation for his services as quartermaster, and in my judgment ought to be paid without further delay.

The Honl. William
L. Marcy, Sec. War
Dear Sir
Herewith you will receive a package
which issued from your office addressed to Edward Pickett [Charles
Edward Pickett?], Esqr. Mr. Pickett is a
resident of California and refuses to accept the appointment conferred
upon him. I apprised Mr. Pickett of his appointment soon after my
arrival in Oregon in Sept. last. I have recently received an
unsatisfactory note from him, and I think perhaps that previous reports
will be confirmed that he is not of sound mind. The acting Governor has
made demand for the papers. I refuse to give them up & I know
of no other means of acting correctly but to send them back to you.
An express has just arrived from the
Cayuse war. They have recently had a battle; the Indians began to fall
& took to flight. I should write you in full of this Indian
difficulty, but I am sure you have been duly apprised.
I have the honor to be, sir, with much
deference, your most humble & obedient svt.

Sir:
I have the honor to inform you that, by direction of
the President, J. Quinn Thornton, George C. Preston and Robert Newell
of Oregon have been appointed sub-Indian agents to be employed and to
reside in that Territory. The appointment and instructions of the
first, who is here, have been placed in his hands. Those of the latter
I have the honor to transmit herewith, to be communicated to them by
you. The copies in the first case, which I enclose, will advise you of
the tenor of these papers in each, all being alike.
You will perceive that these sub-agents are placed
under your control and direction, in your capacity of Acting
Superintendent of Indian Affairs within the limits of Oregon, and are
required to execute such duties and to carry out such instructions as
you may find it necessary to assign and to give to them.
These appointments are to be regarded only as
temporary in the absence of authority to appoint full agents, and of
any authentic and official information as to the number and localities
of the Indians of Oregon, and the number and capacity of the persons
absolutely requisite to aid you in efficiently managing our Indian
relations in that Territory. Such information on the above and other
material points is desired at as early a period as practicable to
enable the Department to submit to the President some proper plan for
an efficient organization of this branch of the service, and for
properly conducting our Indian relations in Oregon. By direction of the
Secretary of War I have therefore respectfully to request that, at as
early a period as may be in your power, you will give your attention to
this subject & report to this office for the information of the
President and Congress all the facts it may be in your power to collect
on the following and any other points that you may deem to be of
interest and importance.

1st. The number and names of the several tribes and their particular or general locality.
2nd. The number of each separate tribe or band and the probable number of effective warriors in each.
3rd. Their general character and disposition, whether warlike or unfriendly or the reverse.
4th. Their present relations with the white inhabitants of Oregon, and with the Hudson's Bay Company.
5th. Whether any conventional arrangements, and if
so, of what character, exist between them and our white citizens, which
should be respected and confirmed by the government, and in what manner
this should be done.
6th. What number of agents and sub-agents will be
indispensably necessary for the proper management of our relations and
intercourse with them.
7th. The points at which agencies and sub-agencies should be established.
8th. The tribe or tribes which should be embraced in
each agency or sub-agency, a sub-agency being in no case embraced
within an agency, the same being prohibited by law.
9th. The number of interpreters & other employees that will be necessary.
10th. The amount that will probably be required for
the erection of the necessary agency buildings and fixtures of a plain
& cheap but sufficiently substantial character.
11th. The amount that will probably be required per
annum for contingent expenses, embracing fuel, stationery, traveling
expenses of agents &c.
12th. The amount requisite per year for such small
presents as it may be necessary occasionally to make to the Indians to
conciliate their good will.
13th. The amount that will probably be necessary
annually for provisions for Indians visiting the agents on business.
14th. What alteration, if any, it may be requisite
and proper to make in the present law regulating trade and intercourse
with our Indian tribes, so as better to adapt it to the condition &
circumstances of our white & Indian population in Oregon.

Some definite information on these and such other
points as you may think necessary to be considered with reference to
legislation by Congress for the purpose of placing our Indian affairs
in Oregon on a proper basis will enable the President to make
appropriate recommendations upon the subject, and it is therefore very
desirable that your report be received in season for this to be done
prior to the termination of the next session of Congress.
No appropriation having been made for the purpose of
the late session, the Department has no funds which can be applied
thereto, except a portion of a balance of a limited amount of a general
appropriation applicable to the service generally. Beyond the salaries
of the three sub-agents, and the same number of interpreters, but
little can be spared for objects of an incidental and contingent
character, so that in expenditures of this kind the greatest economy
must necessarily be observed. The following sums for the purposes named
will be placed in your hands, viz:

For salary of three sub-agents for six months commencing when they actually enter upon their duties in Oregon

$1,125.00

For salary of three interpreters for same time at the rate of $300 per annum, the same being fixed by law

The above will be accounted for quarterly, if practicable, by regular
account abstract and vouchers, under the head of "Current Expenses
Indian Department."
It may not be necessary to employ interpreters
continuously, in which case the amount under that head would be
applicable to the employment of a greater number than three at broken
periods should that be necessary on account of the variety of languages
spoken by the Indians.
In addition to the foregoing amount there will
likewise be turned over to you by direction of the President the sum of
$4,727.15/100, being the unexpended balance of an appropriation of
$10,000 made by Congress for "payment for the services and expenses of
such persons as have been engaged by the provisional government of
Oregon in conveying communications to and from the United States, and
the purchase of presents for such of the Indian tribes as the peace and
quietude of the country requires."
The above balance is the amount left after paying
the claims of persons of the character mentioned, and is therefore
applicable to the purchase of presents. The Department has no
information to enable it to give you specific instructions in respect
to the expenditure of this money, and it must therefore be left to the
exercise of a sound discretion on your part under the circumstances in
which you may find yourself placed in the management of relations with
the Indians. The President is confident however that in this you will
exercise a just and proper degree of economy. The expenditure must be
accounted for as in the case of the other money placed in your hands by
this Department, by regular accounts current, abstracts and vouchers,
made up quarter-yearly, and transmitted by such safe conveyances to
this office as may offer.
Copies of the material laws and regulations on the
subject of Indian affairs accompany this communication for your own
information and use, and extra copies of some of them for the use of
the sub-agents.

Mr. [Ephraim] Catching, with his two
brothers, came
to Oregon overland from Missouri in 1846 and settled in the Willamette
Valley. In 1848, on the first intimation of the discovery of gold in
California that reached Oregon, he resolved at once to cast his fortune
there. A vessel arriving from San Francisco had brought the sensational
tidings, and while many were skeptical with regard to its correctness,
Mr. Catching had faith to warrant him in making the effort to reach the
new gold field. Enlisting a score or more of adventuresome companions,
a party was soon equipped and ready for the journey.

Murdered an Indian.

Their course lay through the valleys of
Umpqua and
Rogue rivers--a region as yet in a manner unexplored and inhabited by
tribes of Indians whose disposition toward the encroachment of the
white man was an unsettled proposition. The trip as far as the Rogue
River country was made without incident or happening worthy of mention.
There was, however, enacted a tragedy which--though a reproach to our
boasted civilization, and even to our race--is entitled to a place in
history as the inceptive prompting of the Rogue River Indian War: One
of the party shot and instantly killed an unoffending old Indian. The
Indians had been entirely harmless, and the victim of that most hellish
perfidy had visited the camp of the white men with seeming friendship
and good will. Standing with folded arms and unmindful of the, to him,
strange implement leveled at his breast, he fell the victim of a
species of vandalism which, in its degree, is undefinable by invective
provided by the English language.
Mr. Catching was in favor of giving the
miscreant
over to the Indians to be dealt with accordingly as they should
determine, but other counsels prevailing, the wretch was permitted to
go unpunished and with the immunity so afforded to vaunt, in after
years, his dastardly act as a mark of heroism. Thenceforth the enmity
of the Indians toward the white settler, or wayfarer, was of marked
intensity, till at length it culminated in the memorable Rogue River
War, in which Mr. Catching participated and for which service his
surviving widow is now entitled to a pension. Though recognizing the
primary injustice done to the Indians, in defense of his own race and
his own fireside he joined the ranks of the illustrious pioneer
soldiers.

Sir:
I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your
letter of the 2nd inst. directing the sum of $6,902.85 to be turned
over to Govr. Jos. Lane on account of the Oregon sub-agency, and to
inform you that he left here about the 1st instant for Fort
Leavenworth, at which place I have just learned from the clerk of the
steamer Mandan
he was on the
6th last and making his preparations to start on the 9th for Oregon.
From another gentleman I learn that there was some uncertainty about
his starting so soon, and have accordingly written to him this day by
mail and steamboat, informing him that the money, instructions, blanks,
commissions &c. are on hand here for him.

With
great respect I am sir Yr
most obt. svt.
John Haverty
Clerk
Ind. Affairs

NARA Series M234, Letters
Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, Reel 607 Oregon
Superintendency 1842-1852, frames 414-415.

GOV. LANE.--The steamer Martha arrived
from Weston last night. We learn from her officers that Gov. Lane left
Fort Leavenworth with an escort of 25 men, under the command of Lieut.
Hawkins, on Sunday, the 10th inst., for Oregon, via Santa Fe and
California. The officers also report that Gen. Price was expected to
arrive in Santa Fe on the second of last month.Unidentified
clipping marked "Sept. '48," pasted onto letter below. Weston is a
town in Ohio; the Martha plied the Ohio River.

Office
Supt. Ind. Affairs St. Louis
Sept. 28, 1848

Sir:
On the 11th inst. the clerk of this
office had the honor to inform you of the departure of Govr. Jos. Lane
from this city for Fort Leavenworth on or about the first of this
month, and of his having written to him by steamboat & mail,
advising him of the amount of funds &c. These letters have
since been returned by the postmaster at Fort L. to this office, the
Governor having left there on the 10th instant on his way to Oregon.
The remittance of $6,902.75, advised by
your letter of 2nd inst. for the use of Govr. Lane, was recd. here on
the 13th. It being no longer available here for the purpose intended, I
have respectfully to ask your instructions to redeposit it to the
credit of the Treasurer of the United States.
The documents recd. from your office for
Govr. L. have been returned here up to this time, in the hope that an
opportunity would occur of forwarding them to Oregon; none such having
presented itself, I have this day returned them as directed by the
postscript of your letter above referred to.

I
have the honor to be sir Yr
most obt. svt.
T. H. Harvey
Supt.
Ind. Affairs